Bono Speaks Out On Refugee Crisis During Gig

Bono Addressed The Ongoing Refugee Crisis In Europe At U2'S Gig In Italy On Saturday (05sep15), Changing The Lyrics To The Group's Anthemic Hit Pride (In The Name Of Love) To Pay Tribute To The Dead Syrian Toddler Who Was Washed Up On A Turkish Beach Earlier This Week.

Aylan Kurdi, three, has become the poster child of the ongoing crisis after images of the tragic tot in the arms of a police officer hit the front pages of newspapers across the world this past week (ends04Sep15), and Bono was among those sicked by the photos.

Speaking between songs at the show in Turin, the frontman said, "We don’t know what the answer to the refugee crisis in Europe and Africa is, but we know that if we don’t figure it out, then Europe, which is a beautiful idea, will be no more. So we have to figure it out, whatever it is."

He asked the crowd, "What do you want? A Europe with its heart and borders closed to mercy? Or a Europe with its heart open?"

Bono then changed the lyrics to Pride to include the line, "One boy washed up on an empty beach", as fans roared their approval.

The singer told the crowd, "It’s incredible. Watching the news, ordinary people, all of us seem capable of such great evil and such great love. I don’t know the answer to the refugee crisis in Europe and Africa, but I know we must work together to find an answer... As Nelson Mandela said, 'It always seems impossible until it is done'."

Bandmate Adam Clayton also spoke to the fans, asking government officials to do the right thing over the crisis.

Pope Francis also weighed in on the Syrian refugee crisis during his weekly address at the Vatican in Rome. He told the faithful that he and his advisers are taking in two families of refugees - and urged priests and nuns at each Catholic convent, monastery, parish and sanctuary across Europe to do the same.

He said, "The Gospel calls us to be neighbours to the smallest and most abandoned, to give them concrete hope."

The migrant crisis has claimed the lives of more than 3,700 people this year alone, according to USA Today, as refugees attempt to escape violence in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.